TimurCivan
04-17-2006, 04:09 PM
As i have always touted that getting razor thin DOF, will complicate amatuer filmmaking immensley, i have been proved right.
I am working with certain memebers of this board, on a Film. WE are using 2 LEtus 35 Adpaters. with 2 nikon 50mm F1.4 lenses.
First and foremost, the light loss with said adapter is rather high. I hear there is a newer version that loses less, so hopefully the situation will be resolved. That being said, the lighting set up, which amounts to almost 1500w of light was barely creating, any hotspots, anywhere in the picture. Even at Full wide, on both lenses (35mm lens and DVX). So take into account that you will need to light Properly.
Actually using the adapters, was not as cumbersome as i thought it was going to be, especailly with the LCD magnet trick, however, you still need a monitor to make sure our focus is acceptable, these adapters do soften the image hence, getting the image as sharp as possible, is a must. You need to use Gaffers tape to secure the DVX focus and Zoom rings, so they dont move once you adjust them properly. With experince it should take less than 5 minutes. On the letus i was using the magic number was Z74 MF13. Set it, tape it, forget it. Then mount the Letus with the GG oriented correctly, and away you go. Now the Letus mounts directly to your threads, and weighs quite a bit. We had no rails to support it, and it made me quite nervous putting upwards of a pound of lens and adapter onto the the lens element of a $3500 camera. this means.... BUY RAILS! if i dropped my camera, or someone knocked over a tripod, i have a feeling the mass of an adapter ( any adapter) can rip the three small screws that hold the lens assembly to the DVX frame right out of theri holes. Then you are as as they say in french, "Screwed". So protect your camera, get rails. We are takign our chances, and being super duper careful.
A note to Vibrating GG Adapter users. Please try to confirm me on this or deny me, but when using the camera hand held, i got the distinct feeling the vibrating lens element was shaking the camera enough to soften the image. i came to this conclusion because, when setting up the DVX's for the shoot, and focusing the DVX on the non vibrating GG grain, i noticed the picture to be, grainy, but VERY sharp. when the Motor was turned on i felt like many small details of texture were being.... "Rubbed out" or "smudged away". just let me know if anyone else noticed this.
Focus:
Focus pulling is a new and scary task. Turns out my experience with still photography has come in handy and i have a bit of an edge on getting precise focus quickly, but for people not familiar with 4 inches of DOF, focusing will be an interesting experience. BE SURE of your focus, the EVDTL function should be used as a reference, not a focusing tool. USE A MONITOR!!! buy a 7" LCD monitor, or even a battery powered Portable DVD player, just to be sure. WE got lucky and had 2 production monitors, but i can see it becoming an issue, if you have only a 3 inch DVX monitor to play with.
RACKING- I found the best way to rack focus accurately, without a follow focus, is to hold the lens, in a very comfotable position focused on your END point. then twist the lens until your START point is in focus, but now your wrist should be very "uncomfortable", then when the rack begins, just turn until you feel the natural postition again, it is relatively accurate and it worked very well everytime.
Using the adapter:
The letus had some very odd quirks. the version i was using had this long, wire with a box of batteries on the end. This had to be Gaffed to the top handle of the DVX and about 2 feet of wires secured. IT was irritating, but part of the process i suppose. ( by the time i was ready to shoot, the DVX looked like a Black ninja almost completely covered in Black gaffers tape, the LCD with the magnet, the 2.35:1 Gaffers tape guide lines on the LCD itslef, the tape holding down the Focus and zoom rings, the Battery box taped on top, and teh cables taped to the side........ it was funny actually)
Also it had Plastic Lens mounts. very irritating as they were stripped already, and the lens kept falling off. ( i am glad to hear the new version has metal mounts.)
Over all the final image was nice with more light it would have been even better.
Expect the complexity of your shoots to go up exponentially when using a 35mm adapter. if you are ready for it, they are great tools, but i wrote this so you can be aware of what youre getting yourself into.
All my best,
-Timur.
I am working with certain memebers of this board, on a Film. WE are using 2 LEtus 35 Adpaters. with 2 nikon 50mm F1.4 lenses.
First and foremost, the light loss with said adapter is rather high. I hear there is a newer version that loses less, so hopefully the situation will be resolved. That being said, the lighting set up, which amounts to almost 1500w of light was barely creating, any hotspots, anywhere in the picture. Even at Full wide, on both lenses (35mm lens and DVX). So take into account that you will need to light Properly.
Actually using the adapters, was not as cumbersome as i thought it was going to be, especailly with the LCD magnet trick, however, you still need a monitor to make sure our focus is acceptable, these adapters do soften the image hence, getting the image as sharp as possible, is a must. You need to use Gaffers tape to secure the DVX focus and Zoom rings, so they dont move once you adjust them properly. With experince it should take less than 5 minutes. On the letus i was using the magic number was Z74 MF13. Set it, tape it, forget it. Then mount the Letus with the GG oriented correctly, and away you go. Now the Letus mounts directly to your threads, and weighs quite a bit. We had no rails to support it, and it made me quite nervous putting upwards of a pound of lens and adapter onto the the lens element of a $3500 camera. this means.... BUY RAILS! if i dropped my camera, or someone knocked over a tripod, i have a feeling the mass of an adapter ( any adapter) can rip the three small screws that hold the lens assembly to the DVX frame right out of theri holes. Then you are as as they say in french, "Screwed". So protect your camera, get rails. We are takign our chances, and being super duper careful.
A note to Vibrating GG Adapter users. Please try to confirm me on this or deny me, but when using the camera hand held, i got the distinct feeling the vibrating lens element was shaking the camera enough to soften the image. i came to this conclusion because, when setting up the DVX's for the shoot, and focusing the DVX on the non vibrating GG grain, i noticed the picture to be, grainy, but VERY sharp. when the Motor was turned on i felt like many small details of texture were being.... "Rubbed out" or "smudged away". just let me know if anyone else noticed this.
Focus:
Focus pulling is a new and scary task. Turns out my experience with still photography has come in handy and i have a bit of an edge on getting precise focus quickly, but for people not familiar with 4 inches of DOF, focusing will be an interesting experience. BE SURE of your focus, the EVDTL function should be used as a reference, not a focusing tool. USE A MONITOR!!! buy a 7" LCD monitor, or even a battery powered Portable DVD player, just to be sure. WE got lucky and had 2 production monitors, but i can see it becoming an issue, if you have only a 3 inch DVX monitor to play with.
RACKING- I found the best way to rack focus accurately, without a follow focus, is to hold the lens, in a very comfotable position focused on your END point. then twist the lens until your START point is in focus, but now your wrist should be very "uncomfortable", then when the rack begins, just turn until you feel the natural postition again, it is relatively accurate and it worked very well everytime.
Using the adapter:
The letus had some very odd quirks. the version i was using had this long, wire with a box of batteries on the end. This had to be Gaffed to the top handle of the DVX and about 2 feet of wires secured. IT was irritating, but part of the process i suppose. ( by the time i was ready to shoot, the DVX looked like a Black ninja almost completely covered in Black gaffers tape, the LCD with the magnet, the 2.35:1 Gaffers tape guide lines on the LCD itslef, the tape holding down the Focus and zoom rings, the Battery box taped on top, and teh cables taped to the side........ it was funny actually)
Also it had Plastic Lens mounts. very irritating as they were stripped already, and the lens kept falling off. ( i am glad to hear the new version has metal mounts.)
Over all the final image was nice with more light it would have been even better.
Expect the complexity of your shoots to go up exponentially when using a 35mm adapter. if you are ready for it, they are great tools, but i wrote this so you can be aware of what youre getting yourself into.
All my best,
-Timur.